“The Lord is a warrior; the Lord is his name.” Exodus 15:3

“The Lord will march out like a mighty man, like a warrior he will stir up his zeal; with a shout he will raise the battle cry and will triumph over his enemies.” Isaiah 42:13

“But the Lord is with me like a mighty warrior (NASB: “dread champion”); so my persecutors will stumble and not prevail.” Jeremiah 20:11

“Lift up your heads, O you gates; be lifted up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle.” Psalm 24:7-8

Notice a theme? You got it: the Lord is a warrior. I’ve been reading “Fathered by God” by John Eldredge, and the chapter titled “Warrior” is where I’m pulling much of this material from. But it’s because this echoes so deeply my own thinking that I’m taking the time to summarize and embellish.

Here’s another verse:

“So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” Genesis 1:27

There’s a lie being perpetrated in the Church that war is evil, that it should be avoided. Don’t be deceived: God is a warrior, and He has planted that in our hearts. Read about Samson in Judges. Is the point of the story that some guy had a lot of hair? No. “The Spirit of the Lord came upon him in power.” And what happened next? War. Othniel, Gideon, Jephthah… same thing. The Spirit of the Lord came upon them, and they went to war.

In the verse from Psalm 24 quoted above, the question is asked, “Who is this King of glory?” Bill Gaither gave his answer in song: “The little boy from the carpenter shop.” But that’s incredibly wrong. The answer is, “The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle.” Jesus was a warrior; at one point he even took the time to make his weapon before starting the fight (when he built a whip of cords and used it to clear out the temple). And he understood that the real war was spiritual; otherwise, why would he have bothered going into the wilderness, fasting for 40 days, and actively opposing Satan when he was presented with an easy out?

Many years ago, one of my church leaders characterized American Christians as marshmallows: white, sweet, and soft. I’m sorry if that’s offensive; I’ll admit that it offended me when I heard it. Are you willing to accept that as a description of yourself, to sit passively on the sidelines, or are you willing to engage – in relationships, in conflict, in spiritual warfare?

Peace is hell. Peace creates stagnation, decline, death. War tests us, strengthens us, helps us grow.

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” James 1:2-4

Finally, let me remind you of where the real warzone lies:

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” Ephesians 6:12

I’ve been in my share of physical conflict over the years, some officiated and regulated, some… not so much. But just like the Old Testament was in many ways a physical model of the spiritual aspects of the New Testament, any physical conflicts we may experience are only training for spiritual warfare. War is necessary for a nation’s strength and stability. It’s not fun or joyful; there’s pain and death involved. And losing the war costs a nation it’s freedom, it’s culture, it’s way of life. But the cost of losing our spiritual war is so much worse: all the things that God promises us – abundant life, intimacy, health, prosperity – lost, for eternity. And not just for us, but for our families, our communities, our nation.

It’s time, Christian, to rise up, to take action. TO WAR!